Nate and Raj heard their father returning to the Cheetah Castle before the others. They wanted to tell their father the good news. They were excited to have more brothers in the future, or better yet, a little sister! How great it would be to have a miniature version of their mother!
They ran away with their tales wagging as they ran to find Nick. Amber was a little unsteady at their abrupt movements. Oliver helped to stabilize her as Eli looked at his brother's backs with a shake of his head. Those cubs were too energetic and rough with his mother.
He was never that way when he was younger. Maybe it was because they were cheetahs and he was a monkey. He was naturally shy and curious. They were more assertive and jumpy. Amber laughed at her son's behavior and thanked Oliver. "Thank you, Oliver, I am ok."
He told her the cubs went to inform Nick and asked if she wanted to head back to the Cheetah Castle. She nodded and got up to walk back. Oliver picked her up and carried her princess style. Now that he knew she was pregnant, he pampered her to the extreme.
Amber laughed and just shook her head. She knew there was no use telling him to put her down. She knew how extreme the pampering of beastmen could be. Now that she was into her third pregnancy, she already knew what to expect from her mates. She waved at Eli and invited him to visit her at the Cheetah Castle.
Eli was a little hesitant and looked to his father to get approval. Oliver agreed this time since it was a special occasion. He would have to talk to his son later. For now, he knew his mate wanted to be surrounded by her entire family. She was the most caring mother in the entire Beast World!
Nick was walking back to the Cheetah Castle after training a few of the warriors with the new weapons. He was excited to tell his mate about the progress. The beastmen were fast learners and they quickly learned how to use the bows and arrows as well as the spears. He felt better knowing his mate was protected.
Tom and Tyler returned from training the flying beastmen. They were both Kings now and could command the Eagle beastmen and Hawk beastmen. The other flying beastmen respected Tom and Tyler even if they were not from those species. Flying beastmen were all a tribe of their own. Birds of a feather, flock together.
Nick was stopped at the front door by his over-excited cubs. They tried to jump on him, but he gave them a warning growl. They felt the pressure of a five-striped beastman King and lowered their bodies in respect. The cubs tales continued to wag, so Nick knew they were excited. He felt his heart soften a little when he saw their excitement to see him.
He lessened his pressure so they could stand up again. As soon as he did, they communicated with him in the cheetah language that their mother was pregnant. Nick was happy at first and then remembered he had not been intimate with his mate since she was pregnant with his cubs.
His mood dipped a little bit when he realized he was not the father of this litter, but he was still happy for his mate. Her fertility was truly amazing! This was the third time she was pregnant in three years. Most females in the Beast World only had an estrous cycle once a year and usually didn't get pregnant every year.
He would have to be careful not to let her get pregnant again too soon after this one. He wanted to keep the secret of her multiple estrous cycles a year. He knew that beastmen would fight harder to be her mate if they found out about her fertility. It was a dream of every beastman to have his own offspring, but sadly, that was not possible.
His mate was special. She could possibly give offspring to all of her mates, but he didn't want to share her with more mates than necessary. He already had to share her love and attention with five other mates, and 2 cubs. He was happy Eli was fully grown and would not need as much attention as he did when he was younger.
Just as Nick thought he would not see Eli as much, he looked up and saw Oliver carrying his mate while Eli followed close behind. For now, he would allow Eli to visit his mate, but he would talk with Oliver later away from Amber. He knew his mate did not fully understand the ways of the males in the Beast World.
It may seem harsh compared to Earth families, but the Beast World was stricter because they needed to learn how to survive from an early age. Male beastmen were expected to survive and protect females from a very young age. His cubs were already strong enough to protect their mother. Eli already had his first stripe and was about to earn his second stripe. He should focus on how to gain experience to find a mate.
That would be harder if he spent all of his time with his mother. It was really for his own good, and definitely not just because Nick wanted to spend more time with his mate. He convinced himself so he could explain it to Amber if she got mad at him.
Eli carried Amber into the Cheetah Castle. All the Cheetah Guards bowed to their Queen. She would never get used to being treated like royalty, but in this world she was. Not only was Nick the Cheetah King, she also had 2 flying beastmen Kings as mates. Not to mention her Merman King who stayed behind to avoid conflict with the Mermaid Queen.
Amber was the Queen of Kings! Nick approached her and took her from Eli. He hugged her and spun her around. When Amber let out a surprised scream, Nick put her down. "I'm sorry, I was just so excited for you. The cubs told me you are pregnant again. Even if they are not my cubs in your stomach, your children are my children as well."
Amber reared up a little at Nick's heartfelt words. She was so lucky to have such considerate mates. This was so different from Earth, but she started to get accustomed to the ways of the Beast World.
Her other mates were surprised when they heard Amber was pregnant again. Tyler looked the most shocked. If Nick wasn't the father, that meant that he was going to have little birds of his own. He slowly walked towards Amber and asked, "Are they mine?" Amber nodded her head and Tyler dropped to his knees. He kissed Amber's stomach and cried silently. "Thank you for making all my dreams come true! I never thought I would have baby birds of my own. I'm so grateful to you!"
Amber blushed and felt awkward. This big bird man cried and knelt in front of her. She lifted his head to face him. "Get up, the floor is cold." Tyler got up and hugged Amber. He kissed her cheek and buried his face in her neck to not cry any more. A few minutes later, all the other mates came to hug Amber. She became emotional and was about to cry. The cubs rubbed against her hips. Amber knelt down and buried her face in their fur to dry her tears.
She didn't want her family to worry about her, but she was overwhelmed with emotions.
Pregnancy hormones are even stronger in the Beast World because the body goes through the changes quicker than on Earth. The flying beastmen pregnancies usually only last a month if they are male eggs. Amber's appetite had already proven that she would give birth to male eggs.
Over the next month the mates took turns to take Amber on special dates. They wanted to distract her from the Merfolk threat and keep her in a good mood. Barry took her to the woods and picked some berries and honey. They had a picknic in the woods.
Tom took Amber to a waterfall cliff at sunrise and they watched the sunrise together. Barry packed a lunch for them with the snacks Amber liked. Nick took her to his home town and showed her where he was born. Amber cried when he told her about his family and how they died, but he comforted her and made her laugh with some funny stories.
Oliver took Amber to the treehouse he used to live in and picked her fresh fruits along the way. They each took turns with Amber and trained for the battle that would come soon when they were not with her. Amber wished these days would last forever, but decided to cherish them while they lasted.